Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #97 –December 2, 2009
Communication Quotes of the Week
Here are several quotes about the emotion of fear that underlie “Stage Fright”
The German Proverb – “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is."
The Japanese proverb – “Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.”
One of the most famous quotes about fear is from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
in his first inaugural address, March 4, 1933.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
Then the phrase derived from the word “FEAR”:
F--FALSE
E--EVIDENCE
A--APPEARING
R--REAL
The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, December 2, 2009 – Room 223
“Walking the Talk
Last night (12/1), President Obama announced his military and diplomatic intentions about the war in Afghanistan at West Point. He says he wants to “finish the job.” We shall see if he can walk his talk.
- Many of us have had the experience of knowing people who promise to do something and don’t do it. This experience can be personal or within a group. A Touro Dean once described two categories of participants in a project. “There are the show horses and there are the work horses.” The show horses talk a good game, but they “don’t deliver the mail,” as one member of Congress recently phrased it. There are dozens of ways this situation occurs. We’ll share our experiences and then discuss what to do about the phenomenon.
A Note to Communicators:
Stage Fright
Strategy: To observe people who are under pressure in public situations.
Tactic: To detail the behavior that others exhibit – verbal and non-verbal – which indicates a high degree of excitement.
It’s called a lot of things – “Nervous,” “Performance Anxiety.” “Reluctant speaking.” Many studies have been done on the phenomena. However, “Stage Fright” is a universal experience. Lots of people have lots of different opinions. Here’s mine.
Who gets “Stage Fright”? Everyone: actors, politicians, teachers, The person who says he doesn’t get “Stage Fright” is not in touch with his feelings. Once I had a student who said he was not nervous when he got up in front of a group. He was clever enough to mask the external symptoms – sweaty palms, stammering, shaking hands, wobbling knees. But if you listened carefully to his words they were a sophisticated form of “word salad.”
Why does it happen? There are many theories. My observation is that “Stage Fright” occurs whenever there is a deadline. The closer you get to the deadline, the greater the fear.
Think about those occasions besides public speaking when you get “Stage Fright.” You are planning a dinner or a party. You are getting married. You suddenly find out you’ve got an Academy Award.
It is often said that a person facing death gets an extreme form of “Stage Fright.” The elements are there – a deadline, finality. The mind focuses with unusual clarity.
When does it happen? When you are prepared. When you are unprepared. When you are surprised by something positive or negative. When you do something you know is highly risky.
A personal anecdote: Recently, I was held up at gunpoint on my block. I was very aware of how nervous both robbers were while one held me in a headlock while the other frisked me for my wallet. The one with the gun was sweating and very impatient that his partner couldn’t find my wallet fast enough. When they got what they wanted, they ran down to block to a waiting car in the next block.
Whenever you sense of yourself is presented with an unknown situation, your heartbeat increases. Not me. Curiously, I seemed to remain calm and relaxed during the episode. Actually, I remember feeling quite limp as one robber pushed his gun into my chest. After they were gone, I noticed my hands were shaking as I walked home.
In this discussion, I’m referring to everyday garden variety nerves, not to traumatic situations like a robbery.
Controlling “Stage Fright.” This emotional response is a good one, if you don’t let it take over your being. Some people – many actors – have difficulty controlling their “Stage Fright.” They go to therapy. They take courses in yoga. I know one person who goes to acupuncture to control her “Stage Fright.”
I believe that “Stage Fright” is a controllable emotional response. If you don’t believe it is controllable, then “Stage Fright” is not controllable for you and your nerves push you to the edge of sanity.
I believe that we all have the ability to choose. That’s what Eve’s apple gave us – for good or ill. If we have the freedom to choose, that we can choose to control “Stage Fright.”
I’m not saying it is an instant process. You don’t take a pill and suddenly you aren’t nervous.
Changing your responses is hard. Controlling “Stage Fright” is a learned process that begins in your head. You choose to learn how to control your responses. You practice by yourself or with a guide to make difference choices
Once you make the choice, then you begin to identify all the elements of “Stage Fright’ that you experience. When you are retraining your mind, you choose to change the response you have to a particular situation.
Sweaty palms, shaky hands and wobbly knees are only the symptoms of ‘Stage Fright.”
The process of retraining your responses can be long and demanding. Like an actor, you can teach yourself how to respond in controlled, directed manner. Your mental training allows you to use the nervous energy generated by “Stage Fright” to heighten your presentation.
Again, this doesn’t happen overnight. But once mastered, you are able to present yourself as more alert, more vibrant, more energetic, more enthusiastic, and more commanding in your presentation. Your nerves become a coiled spring, prepared to release upon your command.
As all communication competence begins with awareness, so does channeling “Stage Fright.”
UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:
December 9 – “Moral Decay and The Need for a Dress Code”– Recently, Charles Mason gave me a copy of an academic article entitled “Moral Crisis in Higher Education and the Dress Code Phenomenon.” The article reviews “indecent dressing among youth today” and “the need to restore high moral standards, integrity and decency.” In one of our recent sessions, the topic of saggy pants stirred up much discussion. Some people feel strongly – pro and con - about the way certain people dress. We try to keep calm during the session.
December 16 – “Thinking”- Do we know when we think? Can you NOT think? Do you know how YOU think? Do you like to think? Then what do you think about? How can you direct your thinking? What about distractions? These are only some of the topics that will probably come up during the discussion. Maybe someone will know how to read our minds.
Club sessions in the New Year; we’ll talk about when to schedule them.
What about one of these topics?
“How Do You Fire Someone?”
“Rap and Hip Hop – What’s the Message?"
“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Asking Questions in Class”
“Cold Calling in Sales”
“Meaning”
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Repetition”
“Cynicism”
“Heroism”
And dozens of others!
What happened on Wednesday, November 18, 2009? SPAR Debate
For today’s session, our group was small but fearless. . They included Richard Green, Carlisle Yearwood, Britzia Bolanos, Charles Mason, Ronald Johnson and Hal Wicke.
In the early part of the session, Richard, Carlisle and Hal worked with Britzia on her English facility. She is one of Richard’s ESL students and although very conversational in his class, she was brave in being willing to participate in a highly verbal environment.
The three teachers worked with her to explain the plot of Cervantes’ famous novel, “Don Quixote.” Who he was; who his sidekick was; what did the windmills represent; the symbolic meaning of his adventures. To ensure her comprehension, Richard translated the discussion into Spanish. Britzia listened carefully.
Later, Carlisle had to leave for an appointment, but before he left, he learned something from Richard – about his ability to listen. Clearly, the on-going lesson of these sessions is that everyone learns something, regardless of their background and conversational facility.
We took up the SPAR Debate topic of the day – “Honesty is the best policy.” After a flip of a coin, Richard took the negative side while Carlisle argued the affirmative position. Each went at each other in a ferocious, yet articulate exchange. There were a number of literary and biblical references combined with every day contemporary evidence.
Those present – Britzia and Ronald – each voted their favorite debater. The debate was a tie. Hal declined to vote because he was taking care of the mechanics.
In the debriefing, Richard commented on how much he learns from doing these instant debates because he is not used to getting all his thoughts together at one focused time.
We agree. So often we are thrown into situations where we would like to defend a point of view, but the words do not come fast enough or in an organized manner. Practice is the secret weapon for achieving this verbal facility.
We changed direction when Charles was interested in focusing on a comparison of \the current war in Afganistan with the war in Vietnam. He felt that Presidents Bush and Johnson were of the same mindset contrasted with President Obama’s decision making process:- a quick decision vs. a considered decision.
We will all find out next Tuesday night when Obama announces his plans at West Point. At the club meeting the next day, we’ll explore Obama’s injunction that he wants to “finish the job” in connection with our theme “Walking the talk.”
With Thanksgiving the next day and the building closing at 3 pm, the energy was focused on turkey. We will revisit SPAR Debate again in the New Year.
We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #96 –November 25, 2009
Communication Quote of the Week
If two men agree on everything,
you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973) was the 36th president of the U.S.
The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, November 25, 2009 – Room 223
“SPAR Debate
We need to return to practicing our Communication skills. This is another exercise to train your ability to think on your feet. You are given a topic – let’s say, “Honesty is the best policy.” You and a partner flip a coin for who is going to agree with the statement and who is going to disagree. You have a brief period to prepare, and then you argue you side. You will question your opponent and then restate your position. The audience will vote on who gave the best argument. They cannot take sides. To keep things lively, we have many other topics.
A Note to Communicators:
Finding Agreement #1
Strategy: To observe current events to discover important communication elements.
Tactic: To discover the elements of agreement and the difficulty in arriving at agreement in the current health care debate in Congress while trying not to take sides.
Finding agreement in any situation is at best difficult, at worst, impossible. The current health care debate is no exception – and it takes place mostly in public so we can examine some of the moving parts.
Goal: The nation has decided it wants a health care plan. Actually, President Obama is the one who put health care on his to-do list, along with 67 other issues. Obama is the instigator.
President Bush wasn’t interested in health care. President Clinton was, but botched the attempt in 1993 because he didn’t know how work the system. From the time of President Harry Truman in 1946, the health care has been an important issue.
Strategy: Identify what are the pieces you want in the bill. That’s the easy part.
· Be aware of what the other Democrats want in their plans.
· Be aware that the Republicans will probably vote against ANY Democratic health plan. (No Republican voted on Saturday night to close debate )
Tactic: Find allies who will support your bill or a compromise version of it/
Tactic: Anticipate the arguments against your bill and prepare your arguments for your bill.
Strategy: Recognize that certain members of Congress will not vote for your bill regardless of how good it is. In every past battle over social welfare issues (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid), Republicans have consistently voted against these bills. In the current cloture vote, the Republicans voted in a bloc of all 39 votes. One Republican (Voinovich from Ohio) did not vote.
Opposing strategies for each side: If you are a Democrat, make sure all Democrats vote for the bill. If you are a Republican, make sure all the Republicans and a lot of Democrats don’t vote for the bill.
Tactics for both sides: The leadership of each party should divide up their opponents and decide what it will take to keep or change their vote. Have individual conversations with
Tactics for both sides: Appear in all media arguing for your side.
Tactics for both sides: Have the lobbyists from various industries who will benefit or destroy the support for or against the bill.
Final tactic – Call in all the favors from Members of Congress to vote the way you want.
Final strategy – Cross your fingers.
The above is roughly what happens in Congress in Washington or the Legislature in Albany. It is very formal and public.
In countries where the process of finding agreement is opaque (China) or violent (Afganistan or Iran), there are many more variables, especially is you decide to disagree with the leader of your country.
Most people tire easily of all this back and forth negotiation to arrive at an agreement. These people want simple solutions quickly. A dictator is the only kind of government they want – when THEY are the dictator.
Any kind of democracy is torturous – especially is interpersonal relationships. If we think we believe in equality, just wait until someone disagrees with you. Then it’s “My way or the highway!”
We aren’t taught negotiation is school. Power is the only thing that comes instinctively to us. A knife, a gun or a fist can solve an immediate problem, but – DAMN! – There are all these pesky consequences – unfair treatment, lies, hurt feelings, emotional damage, etc. etc. Even verbal manipulation is a weapon for those who have fast mouths.
But that gets tiresome. What to do?
Sir Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:
December 2 – “Walking the Talk”- Many of us have had the experience of knowing people who promise to do something and don’t do it. This experience can be personal or within a group. A Touro Dean once described two categories of participants in a project. “There are the show horses and there are the work horses.” The show horses talk a good game, but they “don’t deliver the mail,” as one member of Congress recently phrased it. There are dozens of ways this situation occurs. We’ll share our experiences and then discuss what to do about the phenomenon.
December 9 – “Moral Decay and The Need for a Dress Code”– Recently, Charles Mason gave me a copy of an academic article entitled “Moral Crisis in Higher Education and the Dress Code Phenomenon.” The article reviews “indecent dressing among youth today” and “the need to restore high moral standards, integrity and decency.” In one of our recent sessions, the topic of saggy pants stirred up much discussion. Some people feel strongly – pro and con - about the way certain people dress. We try to keep calm during the session.
December 16 – “Thinking”- Do we know when we think? Can you NOT think? Do you know how YOU think? Do you like to think? Then what do you think about? How can you direct your thinking? What about distractions? These are only some of the topics that will probably come up during the discussion. Maybe someone will know how to read our minds.
What about one of these topics?
“How Do You Fire Someone?”
“Rap and Hip Hop – What’s the Message?"
“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Asking Questions in Class”
“Cold Calling in Sales”
“Meaning”
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Repetition”
“Cynicism”
“Heroism”
And dozens of others!
What happened on Wednesday, November 18, 2009? “Charles Borkhuis and his Radio Plays”
For today’s program, we had a healthy mixture of new and familiar faces, mostly faculty. The new faces were Mirela Burca, Lacy Shaw, and Leon Perkal. Among the familiar faces were Richard Green, Lorinda Moore, Meggy Lindsay, Abraham Luna, James Millner, Charles Mason, Pamela Sheppard, Markus Vayndorf, Rene Vasquez, Carlisle Yearwood, Jean Missial and Hal Wicke And, of course, Charles Borkhuis, our guest for the afternoon.
The purpose of this session was to be able to hear a work of art and then question the working artist, who happens to teach at Touro, to discover how he does what he does.
English faculty member Charles Borkhuis leads several creative lives outside of Touro. In addition to his poetry and essays, his many radio and stage plays have received national and international acclaim.
During the afternoon, we listened to two 26-minute radio plays of Charles Borkhuis which were performed on National Public Radio. We listened to “The Sound of Fear Clapping” and “Foreign Bodies.”
Each was homage to the Hollywood film noir genre of the 1940s and early ‘50s, which was rooted in German Expressionism of the 1920s. Drawing on the literary detective novels of Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane, these movies starred familiar names of Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Some film noir titles might include “The Maltese Falcon,” “Key Largo,” and “The Asphalt Jungle,” which reappear occasionally on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).
Professor Borkhuis said he was inspired to write these radio plays from his childhood experiences of listening to radio drama like “The Lone Ranger,” “The Adventures of Sam Spade,” and radio comedies like “Abbott and Costello,” “Amos ‘n’ Andy.” Several faculty also remembered these radio shows with great warmth.
The old-time radio plays may have been the inspiration for Professor Borkhuis, but what he does with the format and its elements completely reinvents the genre. .
To retell the plots of both plays after one hearing is, for this reporter, an impossibility. In each, a gravelly-voiced central male character narrates his difficulties with time, people and
.Professor Borkhuis creates a riveting aural portrait that mimics its origins while transcending its limits. The voices and the music painted a tortured central figure which is at the mercy of forces beyond his control.
Unlike its film noir inspiration with its linear plot and stereotypical characters, he manipulated time and, with sound overlays, was able to create a simultaneity that the old-time radio plays had never envisioned.
With a long list of books of poetry to his credit, the poet in Borkhuis manipulates his radio language to heighten the impact of the story. Narration, dialogue and repetition of key phrases create a complex verbal portrait of the entanglements of the principal character. Occasional contemporary references were jarring opposition to the 1940s mood he created.
Between each radio play, everyone asked questions of Professor Borkhuis, ranging from the mechanics of production to how he got his ideas for the two shows. He was very gracious in answering every question in detail. The second play, “Foreign Bodies,” had a jazz theme and Professor Borkhuis pointed out several moments where the structure of jazz music was reinforced by the music of jazz.
· “For me,” Professor Borkhuis commented, “Poetry is an escape into an imaginary world that is always new.” Other thoughts included:
· “As adults we have lost that atmosphere of a child’s world.”
· “There are poetic moments in washing dishes.”
· “A Zen answer not far from the dreaming world.”
· “Awareness is a new day.”
· “Get into the state – the spell – James Joyce’s ‘Epiphany.’”
· “I look for a spark. I read bits from 12 books until something, a voice, triggers a spark.”
· “There are a lot of choices which I have to edit, particularly to a 26 minute format.”
· “The spiral is an image of human projection, going forward yet returning to previous themes.”
Professor Borkhuis: “I was working with a student the other day. I asked her to write her ideas randomly on the board. These thoughts are bubbles. We then began to work to make connections between and among the bubbles to make a coherent paragraph.”
· “There is a value in repetition.”
· Yearwood: “Sliding between your own thoughts.”
· “You establish a dream spell and then prime the pump. The mind works associatively.”
· “I enjoy my teaching – it is a stimulating, creative process.”
How long did you take to write these plays? “Picasso was asked the same question about one of his paintings. He said, “Sixty-seven years.”
· “The product is the process…a pebble on the road becomes gold.”
· “Sound and silence over music.”
· “Leave your egos at the door.”
Jean gave an interesting final thought: “I always think in terms of ends – the products. I think I have to work on the beginnings and middles as well.”
As the group concludes, everyone applauded Professor Borkhuis. “Exhilarating!” “Wonderful!” “The best program yet!” were among the many, many comments
For those interested in hearing Charles Borkhuis’ two radio plays, here is the link:
We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke

Monday, November 9, 2009

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #95 –November 18, 2009
Communication Quote of the Week
“People may or may not say what they mean... but they always say something designed to get what they want.”
David Mamet (b., 1947) is a prolific American author who has written for the stage, television and screen and often directs his own work He has won a Tony. and a Pulitzer prizes and two Academy Award nominations for his work.
There will be no Communication Club meeting on Wednesday, November 11th because of Faculty Development Day
The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 – Room 223
“Charles Borkhuis and his Radio Plays”
English faculty member Charles Borkhuis leads several creative lives outside of Touro. In addition to his poetry and essays, his many radio and stage plays have received national and international acclaim. We are going to listen to one of his radio plays and discover how he does what he does. This is a rare opportunity to ask questions of a working artist about his art.
This week, instead of the usual Note to Communicators, we are listing the results of the 8th Speech contest.
8th Speech Contest – Fall 2009
November 3, 2009
Name
Title of Speech
Instructor
Course/Site
Rank
Anzhelika Khaitova
“Everything You Want to Know About Yoga””
Ms. Bardwell
GCA 101
Dov Revell/ SCAS
1st Prize
$100 cash
Aliza Payziyev
“Peer Pressure’”
Ms. Bardwell
GCA 101
Dov Revell/
SCAS
2nd Prize
$50 cash
Rosanna Martin
“Are Fathers Failing?”
Mr. Turney
GCA 100
Taino/SGS
3rd Prize
$25 cash
Rene Vasquez
“Motorcycle
Safety”
Mr. Green
GCA 100
Sunset Park
Honorable Mention
Shalene Fernandez
“Job Interviewing”
Mr. Backinoff
GCA 100/
Taino/SGS
Finalist
Angel Franco
“Women Are the Reason for Men’s Infidelity”
Mr. Turney
GCA 100/
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
Jean Missial
“Music to Inspire Change”
Mr. Green
GCA 100/
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
Rachel Mishaely
“How to MakeSpecial Occasion Cakes”
Ms. Bardwell
GCA 101
Dov Revell/
SCAS
Finalist
Damian Forbes
“Child Abuse”
Mr. Wicke
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
Jonathen Tineo
“Robots & Technology”
Mr. Green
GCA 100/
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
Judges: Professor Charles Mason, Dean Donne Kampel, Professor Carlisle Yearwood.
Communication Department members: George Backinoff, Gena Bardwell, Jason Carvell, Richard Green, Hal Wicke. Lorinda Moore is the Administrative Asst for the department.
This year was especially competitive. There was a one point difference between each of the four finalists.
UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:
November 25 – “SPAR Debate We need to return to practicing our Communication skills. This is another exercise to train your ability to think on your feet. You are given a topic – let’s say, “Honesty is the best policy.” You and a partner flip a coin for who is going to agree with the statement and who is going to disagree. You have a brief period to prepare, and then you argue you side. You will question your opponent and then restate your position. The audience will vote on who gave the best argument. They cannot take sides. To keep things lively, we have many other topics.
December 2 – “Walking the Talk”- Many of us have had the experience of knowing people who promise to do something and don’t do it. This experience can be personal or within a group. A Touro Dean once described two categories of participants in a project. “There are the show horses and there are the work horses.” The show horses talk a good game, but they “don’t deliver the mail,” as one member of Congress recently phrased it. There are dozens of ways this situation occurs. We’ll share our experiences and then discuss what to do about the phenomenon.
December 9 – “Moral Decay and The Need for a Dress Code”– Recently, Charles Mason gave me a copy of an academic article entitled “Moral Crisis in Higher Education and the Dress Code Phenomenon.” The article reviews “indecent dressing among youth today”and “the need to restore high moral standards, integrity and decency.”In one of our recent sessions, the topic of saggy pants stirred up much discussion. Some people feel strongly – pro and con - about the way certain people dress. We try to keep calm during the session.
December 16 – “Thinking”- Do we know when we think? Can you NOT think? Do you know how YOU think? Do you like to think? Then what do you think about? How can you direct your thinking? What about distractions? These are only some of the topics that will probably come up during the discussion. Maybe someone will know how to read our minds.
What about one of these topics?
“How Do You Fire Someone?”
“Rap and Hip Hop – What’s the Message?"
“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Asking Questions in Class”
“Cold Calling in Sales”
“Meaning”
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Repetition”
“Cynicism”
And dozens of others!
What happened on Wednesday, November 4, 2009? “Martial Arts and Communication”
For more than 90 minutes, nineteen people, new and familiar, were honored, entertained and entranced with the Martial Arts demonstration presented by Grand Master Khalif Williams, a 9th degree black belt, and his student, Ronald Johnson, a brown belt warrior and active member of the Communication Club.
Sensei Khalif Williams is the leader of the Internal Dragon Dojo [school] in the Bronx. He holds classes for all ages at his dojo. Contact information is at the end of the blog entry. He has developed his view of the Martial Arts in the following statement.
Our Virtues
Martial Arts is my secret. I bear no arms.
May God help me if I ever use my art.
Love is they law. Truth is what I worship.
Form is my manifestation. Conscience is my guide.
Peace is my shelter. Order is my attitude. Nature is my companion.
Beauty and perfection is my life.
Quitters never win and winners never quit.
Karate Kan must be gentle in life, ferocious in combat.
Focus plus timing plus speed equals power.
I do my best and the best of my ability.
The first time visitors included Ari Yehuda, Vannessa Linnen and Kevin Johnson of the Midtown maintenance staff, Britzia Bolanos, Chui Hing You, Monma Martinez, Merrill Best, Polly Adanach and Stephen Phillips, Director of Touro’s Project Aspire. Familiar faces included Pamela Sheppard, Meggy Lindsay, Lorinda Moore, Richard Green, Carlisle Yearwood, Diurka Sosa, Sheyla Martinez, Jean Missial, Charles Mason and Hal Wicke
Hal had written on the board
· Is there a connection between martial arts and communication?
· What can Communicators learn from Martial Artists?
Sensei [teacher] Khalif Williams briefly outlined his experience in over 10 different martial arts, beginning at age 7. All martial arts began in India with yoga as their inspiration. He said there are three purposes of martial arts:
1. to hurt
2. to maim
3. to kill
The applications of the various martial arts are through three means
· Verbal
· Visual
· Physical applications
Sensei Williams began demonstrating a wide variety of movements, using Ronald as both a victim and the attacker. Others who helped in the demonstrations were Kevin Johnson, Charles Mason Lorinda Moore, Pamela Sheppard and others.
Some highlights were:
· The most vulnerable spot in a male is not the testicles, but his prostate just above the penis.
· Hit the prostate, not the groin in a fight with a male.
· Men are top heavy.
· Criminals are dumb.
· The weakest part of the hand is the thumb.
· The need for mental preparation.- 90% mental; 10% physical
· Gain the power of “Chi” or energy from inner strength.
· Martial arts works from inside out.
· Martial arts are more liberating than boxing.
· Walk away from a fight
· The Japanese – “The first man to raise his voice loses.”
· “I teach through laughter.”
· Boxers have a lethal weapon with their hands; martial artists do not.
· There is power in the flick of the wrist.
· “Hesitation will hurt you.”
· “I have an obligation to teach; you have an obligation to learn.”
· “What you put into it, you will get out of it.”
· Karate means “empty hand.”
· The sixth sense is “awareness.” – the third eye.
· The different colors of the martial arts belts are from white (beginner), brown, purple, green, black (the highest) with additional levels
· “Speak to the unconscious mind. Touch the dream world.”
· “Everything is a habit – learned behavior
· Open a door with the key in your fist between middle and 4th finger.
· Two kinds of walks – Lumbering vs smart walk - who will be attacked?
· “I learn from my students – always learning – never too late to learn”
· Adapt martial arts to your life.
· The way of the warrior
Contact information for Sensei Khalif Williams, Sensei for the Internal Dragon Dojo:
1000 Rosedale Avenue
Bronx, NY 10472
Cell – 646-345-3675
We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.
Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke